Preparing a Thesis Writing

Although you do not actually write your thesis until senior year, the success of your thesis depends in large part on what you do junior year.

The first decision you have to make is whether to write a thesis or not. This decision involves a combination of both academic and non-academic considerations. Devoting your senior year to thesis writing does not require that you drop everything else (at least not until the final few weeks), but it does mean that you are choosing to spend a very considerable portion of your time senior year engaged in scholarly research and writing.
Many students choose not to write a thesis because they wish to focus their energies elsewhere. Approximately 30-40% of Government concentrators each year choose to write a thesis.

When you start your junior year, you might not know yet whether you want to write a thesis. If you are like many of your peers, you will have questions such as, "What exactly does a thesis look like?", "So how much work do I really have to do?" and "What are the steps involved if I want to write?".

If you already know that you wish to write a thesis, your questions may be slightly different: "What courses do I need to take to prepare me to write a thesis?", "How much statistical preparation do I need to succeed in my thesis?", or "Is anything different for me if I'm writing a political theory thesis?" Junior year is also designed to answer questions like these.